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Huge race park proposed for Yaphank

BY MARK HARRINGTON
STAFF WRITER

June 9, 2005

As an investment group of motor-sports enthusiasts pursues a racing-oriented entertainment complex on 353 undeveloped acres in Yaphank, the Suffolk County Legislature Tuesday passed a resolution calling for the creation of a community advisory board to scrutinize all proposals.

Called the The Suffolk County Sports and Entertainment Park, the latest and largest proposal for the massive tract of land south of the Long Island Expressway at Exit 67 -- adjacent to a Grucci fireworks plant and the county prison farm -- proposes construction of a NASCAR-type oval track, drag strip, motocross park, motor-sport museum and an ATV park.

Additionally, according to Neil Rosenberg, vice president of Top Gun Sports & Entertainment Inc. in Bohemia, the facility would be home to a concert amphitheater and an arena, a 135-room "destination" hotel, RV park, a "youth zone," and "Pleasure Isle" of restaurants, dance clubs and bars.

The proposal was first reported in Long Island Business News.

"It's the passion of a group of people who have no place to their kids and are tired of going to New Jersey to see motor sports," said Rosenberg, who declined to name the 20 investors.

One of them, according to business records, is Peter Scalise, the group's chief executive, who as president of Northeast Motorsports led an unsuccessful proposal two years ago to build a similar complex in Calverton.

Rosenberg would say only that the $180 million proposal was five years in the making and that many of the investors are from the previous project.

The group would finance development and lease the land from the county, turning over a percentage of annual profits.

The group is seizing on an appeal by County Executive Steve Levy earlier this year for proposals for the site that incorporate affordable worker housing, entertainment and recreational uses.

The Top Gun group is opposed to the affordable housing element of the plan -- a possible sticking point for the county. "If they do affordable housing there's going to be a detrimental impact to the school district," Rosenberg said.

The group's Web site, which opens with a video of Levy's state-of-the-county address earlier this year, suggests political obstacles won't be a factor.

"The political process is going fast forward. Both aisles of the county Legislature and the Suffolk county exec have embraced the project with enthusiasm and a show of very strong bi-partisan support," it says.

Ed Dumas, a spokesman for Levy, Wednesday called the video and the endorsement statement "totally unauthorized."

"There's no endorsement of this proposal," Dumas said. Instead, he said, development of the site will be open to other ideas and formal bids from a number of private-sector groups.

In addition, Top Gun's eschewing of affordable housing could pose problems.

"I can tell you unequivocally the idea of homes for workers will be a very important part," of the formal request for proposals, said Jim Morgo, commissioner of Suffolk's department of economic development and work force housing.

Told about the group's contention that affordable housing would be detrimental to the school district, Morgo said, "They happen to be wrong about that."

Rosenberg said the group has estimated that the complex would employ 300 full-time and 900 part-time workers, and create 2,000 construction jobs during the 31/2 to 4 years it would take to complete the project. He said the group is working with a renowned consultant on noise abatement to keep noise down.

Top Gun is estimating the project will have an annual $200 million "impact" on the area, and contribute $15 million in annual sales tax.

It hasn't met with civic groups yet, but plans to. A spokesman for county Legis. Peter O'Leary, whose district covers the area to be developed and who proposed the community advisory board, said, "The people of Yaphank and nearby communities must be included in the process."